‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ coming to Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble stage
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BLOOMSBURG -- "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is a somewhat curious, challenging choice for the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble to stage as one of its 2018-19 season attractions.
Simon Stevens penned the uniquely constructed storyline, based upon Christopher Haddon's 2003 best-selling novel.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday from now until April 13, with 3 p.m. curtains on April 7 and 14, at the Alvina Krause Theatre, 226 Center St.
There will be a "talk-back" conversation following each Sunday matinee, with BTE hosting a post-production panel on altruism awareness.
Ensemble member Elizabeth Dowd directs this intricate British import, following its successful run on Broadway, for which it won five Tony Awards, including the coveted "Best Play." Dowd's direction is precise and imaginative, nicely incorporating the stellar support from the technical and design staffs.
After the unexpected and vicious death of a neighbor's dog Wellington, a brilliant boy feels compelled to investigate the circumstances surrounding the dog's killing. The 15-year-old is amazingly exceptional at math, although often ill-equipped to apply logic and common sense to everyday experiences.
Distrustful of strangers and hating to be touched, Christopher never ventures far from home -- until he turns detective.
Using his extraordinary brain, and over his father's strenuous objections, Christopher starts a journey to discover the answers to many perplexing questions.
"During Christopher's journey, the play allows the audience to experience for themselves the effects of sensory overload, experienced by some neuro-atypical people," Dowd says.
Although his disability is not spelled out, with Christopher simply admitting that he has "some behavioral difficulties," the autism spectrum disorder displayed is commonly called Asperger syndrome.
As part of a school project, the inquisitive teenager decides to write a book regarding his investigation, sort of taking the form of a murder mystery.
Set in England, the play moves back and forth between the present and the past, which may likely pose only minor problems for some of BTE's audiences, as they follow Christopher's quest for answers to many secretive events.
Heading the cast is guest artist Steve Fala as Christopher, who travels from the village of Swindon to London, hoping to discover the truth about the neighbor and her dog, as well as his father, and surprisingly, his "dead" mother.
It's no concern that Fala does not look like a 15 year old boy, as the Philadelphia-based actor enthusiastically exclaims "the coolest thing about this show is that you are seeing the world from inside a mind that doesn't think like anyone else."
Also solid in major roles are BTE's Andrew Hubatsek playing Christopher's beleaguered father Ed, and Associate Ensemble member Samantha Norton as Judy, the boy's mother, who supposedly has been dead for over two years.
Encouraging Christopher to write his mystery is his special-needs teacher Siobhan, effectively played by guest actress McCambridge Dowd-Whipple. Her nurturing and support triggers a series of life-changing events for Christopher in his journey of self discovery.
Lydia St. Clare plays the neighbor and dog's owner, Mrs. Shears, who has become increasingly friendly toward Ed after Judy's death.
Ensemble member Daniel Roth is cast as Roger, Mrs. Shears' ex-husband, and Christopher's prime suspect in the dog's killing.
Effective doubling and sometimes tripling in other mostly minor roles are guest actress Lindsey Weiss, and BTE members Laurie McCants, Eric Wunsch and James Goode. It is notable that each of the cast maintains a strong British accent throughout the two acts.
The play is written as if Christopher is voicing his mind. The young sleuth, after discovering his mother's letters hidden in his father's toolbox, heads to London, where he believes that his mother is living.
Fala, displaying great stamina while on stage for most of the nearly two and one-half hour running time, gives an energetic, extraordinary performance. He is always believable with his screaming tantrums, violent outbursts when touched, other autistic mannerisms and spastic movements.
There's also top-notch acting from the play's major characters, with the "company" effortlessly playing a variety of roles, including certain appliances and even an automatic teller machine.
Although BTE shows usually have strong technical support, this production exceeds most any other in dazzling the audience's senses with changing patterns of light and sound, drawings and projections both on the stage floor and the backdrop, which serve almost as a canvas for the vivid images, letters and numbers displayed.
Perhaps the most eye-catching, inventive staging occurs at the train station, when Christopher is caught up in the passengers' flurry of activity as trains enter and exist the station, amidst the bustling company's highly choreographed movements.
This highly theatrical, dynamic "Dog" deserves to be seen, and Fala and the cast likewise deserve the standing ovation, which the audience readily gave during a pre-opening preview.
Rated "MA" for Mature Audiences, this stimulating production features mature language and situations -- and a pet rat named Toby, a center-stage trap door, and Fala (in character) making surprise post-curtain call comments.
For more information, call 570-784-8181.